Monday, June 4, 2012

Are You A Mosquito Magnet?, Visualized (Why Yes, Yes I Am)

I'm back from my most recent trip, and the blog's web address has successfully been transferred to my new domain registrar - but I'm still trying to recover (work-wise) from my 1.5 week absence, so my apologies for the light posting over the past week. Things here will get back to normal soon, and I don't think there will be too much travel this summer.

<rant> Personally, I despise traveling at the height of summer - it's unpleasantly warm most places; everything is more expensive, especially airfare and accommodations; and you have to deal with tons more people wherever you go. That's why most of my vacations tend to happen in the spring and/or late fall. </rant>

Speaking of summer phenomena that suck, today I wanted to share an infographic with you about mosquitoes - in particular, why some people seem more attractive to mosquitoes than others, and some strategies that might help you keep mosquitoes from making your life miserable this summer. The mosquitoes just started biting us here in DC, and I think I might try covering myself in catnip this year - I'll trade crazier cats for fewer mosquito bites anytime, at least until my cats start biting me.

2 comments:

I'd like to know what you think about using a Mosquito Magnet instead of repellent. Do you think this is a good idea, or not?

I've had some luck with my MM, but there's standing water in my backyard, so the mosquitoes overwhelm the device. One piece of advice that I have is to make sure you use the attractant if you plan to us an MM. Mine works a lot better if I replace the attractant every time I replace the propane.

Bill: I looked into Mosquito Magnets when writing this post, since I was intrigued by the "continuous" protection advertised in the infographic. They look like they might really work, though it's really only worth it if you have a largish yard or back yard - seeing as I have no front yard and my "back yard" is a 20' x 20' patio, a MM wouldn't be worth it for me.

I wasn't really kidding when I said I would probably be covering myself in catnip this year - there are lots of instructions on the internet for how to make all-natural mosquito repellent yourself, and apparently it's quite effective.

About This Blog

I am one of the largely nameless, faceless bureaucrats who work tirelessly (and largely thanklessly) to help ensure that poor people don't go hungry - and a billion other tasks government bureaucrats do that no one notices until something stops working. Living and working in DC is making me angry - and I vent my anger as thoughtfully as I can. Well, OK, maybe I'm not terribly angry ... but I thought it was a good name for a blog. If you're also a bureaucrat, or angry, or thoughtful, I'm happy to entertain guest posts.